Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Immigration LawThe U.S. Supreme Court has held that an Arizona law imposing sanctions on employers that hire unauthorized workers and requiring employers to use E-Verify is not preempted by federal law, and therefore valid. Read the full post here. (May 27)

Arbitration Fairness Act ReintroducedThe Arbitration Fairness Act of 2011 would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to invalidate all predispute arbitration agreements that require the arbitration of any employment or consumer dispute, or of any conflict arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights. Read the full post here. (May 18)

Healthy Families Act Reintroduced in Both ChambersA bill that would require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees has been reintroduced in both the House and Senate. Read the full post here. (May 17)

The UK Government's latest employment law consultation paper, Consultation on Modern Workplaces (PDF), sets out plans to introduce a new system of flexible, shared parental leave. This would build upon the Government's decision earlier this year to implement the previous Labour administration's legislation on additional paternity leave with effect from April 2011.

Other proposals covered by the consultation include:

Extending the right to request flexible working to all employees.

Amendments to the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) relating to annual leave entitlement and its interplay with sickness absence.

Mandatory equal pay audits for employers who are found by an Employment Tribunal to have discriminated on grounds of sex in relation to pay.

With the ministerial decision of 28 April the new list of flat rate daily allowances, which the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs grants to its employees who undertake "short business trips" abroad, is approved. In this regard, short business trips are those not lasting longer than 30 calendar days.

These daily allowances cover costs for meals and other small expenses for which it is not always possible for the employee or for the manager who is on a business trip abroad to obtain receipts.

The costs for staying overnight and the travel costs to and from abroad do not fall within the scope of the allowances.

When Maryland enacted its law restricting the use of credit history for employment purposes on April 12, 2011, it became the fifth state - joining Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington - to enact a credit privacy law. Maryland's law transforms what was a mildly complicated compliance challenge for multi-state employers into an expanding morass. With credit privacy bills currently pending in more than twenty states, multi-state employers should expect that it will become increasingly difficult to establish company-wide policies on the use of credit history for employment purposes. To learn more about this development and its implications for employers, please continue reading at Littler's Workplace Privacy Counsel blog.

Concern over obesity in America has grown to such an extent that the campaign to combat it now rivals the anti-smoking war that has been waged for the last decade. In much the same way that epidemiological studies linking smoking to health concerns spurred the campaign against smoking, new studies on the cost of obesity are fueling action against the obesity epidemic. The cost of the obesity epidemic is twofold: (1) it leads to a number of recognized health problems for individuals; and (2) it poses a heavy financial burden on society. Employers, in particular, are directly affected by the crisis because obesity is dramatically raising the cost of health care, decreasing employees' productivity while at work, and causing increases in absenteeism. To learn more about this issue and its implications for employers, please continuing reading at Littler's Healthcare Employment Counsel blog.

Supreme Court Issues Pro-Arbitration DecisionIn an opinion favorable to employers that use arbitration agreements, the U.S. Supreme Court in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion has held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a California state supreme court decision that conditioned the enforceability of a consumer arbitration agreement on the availability of class-wide arbitration. Read the full post here. (April 27)

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal aptly identified several challenges that employers face when they allow employees to use their personal smartphones and tablets for work. The article, entitled "So You Want To Use Your iPhone For Work? Uh-Oh. How The Smartest Companies Are Letting Employees Use Their Personal Gadgets To Do Their Jobs," notes several steps employers are taking to reduce privacy and information security risks. These steps include the following: (a) requiring that employees enable passwords, (b) sending a "kill command" to wipe business information from a lost or stolen device, and (c) walling off sensitive data into an "encrypted container." While these steps are all useful, they comprise only a partial list of critical issues employers should consider before permitting employees to use a personal device for work. To learn more about what actions employers should consider taking before allowing employees to use a personal device for work, please continue reading at Littler's Workplace Privacy Counsel blog.

United States: Georgia Enacts Sweeping Immigration Enforcement MeasureGeorgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law House Bill 87, a sweeping, Arizona-style immigration enforcement bill that, among other provisions, requires employers to use E-Verify. Read the full post here. (May 20)

United States: USCIS Launches Website Focused on I-9 ComplianceUSCIS announced the launch of I-9 Central, a website dedicated to providing resources, tips and guidance on proper completion of Form I-9. Read the full post here. (May 17)

The Global Talent Index, which analyzes 60 countries' "capacity for developing, attracting and retaining talent," was recently issued by leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The examined indicators (e.g., education, demographics, openness of labor market) and business executives' survey responses indicate that demand for talented workers exceeds supply, both in the current market and also as projected for 2015.

President Obama Holds Meeting on Immigration ReformPresident Obama assembled a bipartisan group of current and former government officials, law enforcement representatives, and business, faith and civic leaders, to gather their input regarding possibilities for immigration reform. Read the full post here. (April 26)

USCIS Issues Final Rule on Form I-9 DocumentsOn April 15, 2011, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services published a final rule, effective May 16, 2011, governing the types of acceptable identity and employment authorization documents and receipts that an employee may present to an employer when completing Form I-9. Read the full post here. (April 25)

Florida House Committee Approves E-Verify MeasureThe Florida House of Representatives' Economic Affairs Committee recently approved a bill that would require all employers in the state to use E-Verify to authenticate newly hired employees' legal work status. Read the full post here. (April 25)